I performed my ritual and I was greeted by the young delivery guy. He didn’t bat an eyelid at the disjointed sounds of me trying to open the door. I could have been drunk out of my mind for all he knew. I thanked him, paid with the kitty and took the delivery back into the lounge.
Karen and Steve appeared, looking a little ruffled. When I got back into the lounge, I could see Karen was diving straight into the takeaway, but Steve seemed to linger in the doorway as I was trying to edge my way through.
‘Need any help?’ He held out his hand to relieve me of the plates and cutlery.
‘Nope. I’m fine,’ I said as I tried to edge my way past. I was sure I felt his foot reach out and touch mine. ‘Right, you animals, let’s have a little civilisation here, everyone grab a plate,’ I called to the room. Steve suddenly shot me another one of his neutral looks and to me it felt as if it was carrying some kind of warning.
Instagram post: 4th May 2019
Good morning, my lovely cleaners. I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Nothing beats the smell of freshly washed and line-dried linen on a bed. I love the feeling of those ‘just washed’ sheets when I get into bed at night. These sheets were gifted to me by the lovely @fredalinen and I love how white they come up every time I wash them. I use a brand called @fresh. Not gifted, I just absolutely adore the fragrance of their products. Next thing will be to redesign this bedroom altogether and get some fitted wardrobes, but for now, I am enjoying the sunshine. Hope you are too.
Mrs Clean x
#spring #linen #fabric #Lovinglife #MrsClean #Cleansheets #instaclean
256,673 likes
forgetmenots This is bloody gorgeous as it is. Fitted wardrobes would ruin the authentic look you’ve got going on there.
Poole4030 @mrsclean your posts keep me sane.
beckybooloopa Love Love Love.
lucybest65 How do you keep your house so clean? Obviously, no kids.
anthonyr.smith Defo no kids. No one can keep their house that tidy and have kids.
lucybest65 And you say ‘not gifted’ but let’s see how long it takes before she’s collaborating with Fresh. It’s like you only have to mention them once and boom, sponsorship.
everythingispink You sound jealous @lucybest65
lucybest65 Not jealous, just annoyed at how easy these Instagrammers have it these days.
10
Now
I woke up on the morning of the party with a raging headache. I needed to find pain relief straightaway.
I opened and closed the window six times, even though I craved a slight breeze. I looked out through the window to the empty courtyard next door, with the small stretch of grass beyond. No child today.
I thought back to the days I knew and loved best; when a child that age would want to be outside in this weather, running, discovering, so full of curiosities. To witness it was like sunshine flooding my soul. Nothing made me happier.
I opened and closed my door six times, counted the steps down to the kitchen where I knew there was some ibuprofen in a drawer.
I had promised to get the summerhouse finished before the party, but I needed to take my usual trip to the coffee shop first before the furniture would arrive later. I was sure, as much as I didn’t care to, it would appear rude if I shirked away from decorating the lounge once Karen and Steve got back from the party shop. I took two ibuprofens from the packet and swallowed them down with water.
Back up in my bedroom, I couldn’t rest. I found I was pacing the room and wringing my hands. I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and went into Mrs Clean’s most recent Instagram post. It seemed her followers were arguing over her using the names of brands. I looked again at a post she had put up yesterday. It was just a shot of a pile of freshly washed sheets and her feet up on a footstool in a pair of pink fluffy slippers. Amongst the wording accompanying the post she had written, Even clean queens need a break – feet-up time.
She had used the hashtag #fridayyvibes. Everything in the background was out of focus. It now had 167,546 likes and endless comments.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me, my stomach no longer felt tense. I was happy in this little world. I had come to feel safe in smaller spaces, having spent a year confined to just one small area.
I found myself scrolling through a few of yesterday’s comments. The majority of them were positive responses, wishing her a happy day and to not overdo it, or that they were doing something similar themselves. I felt an overwhelming urge to comment, to be a part of this community, but I would not know what to say. A few of the really negative comments stood out amongst the sea of positivity and love for Mrs Clean.
lucybest65 I’m sure a rest is just what you need after all that ‘self-promotion’ #itsallrightforsome
Underneath that were a stream of responses to lucybest65 and her negativity.
singstheword What’s your problem?
milofortune43 Who rattled yours?
ifieverask Give the woman a break. She’s having a cup of tea for five minutes.
Lucybest65 hadn’t responded to any of them. I grew up in an era when trolls didn’t exist because we used to talk face to face. It amazed me how people found it so easy to post something so
